The best laid plans...

So much for closing! Our buyer has been having problems getting her down payment/closing costs together, so closing has been a dream yet to be realized. We have been told that she has everything in order now and we can proceed with a closing date of 4/23, but I hesitate to hold my breath. This process has been such a nightmare. I may never move out of the new house. Just to avoid this sort of nonsense in the future. So Hubby and I are in a holding pattern for now. The house is completely packed up. We are living off two plates, two bowls and two glasses. Washing dishes by hand every night is fun (dripping sarcasm). I'm pretty sure that my attitude problem is not going to improve noticably until we are settled into the new house. I apologize to any and every one that has to interact with me.

I do have something to look forward to though. Hubby and I are heading to Florida in May for the launch of STS-132/ULF4 (space shuttle mission for all you non-NASA-geeks out there). The plan is to fly in to the area on Wednesday, putz around Daytona and Cocoa Beach for a few days, watch the shuttle launch and hang out with friends. The distraction will be greatly appreciated. The last time we went down for a shuttle launch we had a marvelous time. I took my coffee to the beach every morning with a book and enjoyed the non-polluted waters of Cocoa Beach. We're staying in the same hotel, so I look forward to doing that again. I'm also looking forward to revisiting some of the eateries we discovered our last time there and tossing back a few Yuenglings. The thought of a near-future vacation is keeping me sane if not overtly friendly.

So that's where we're at right now. Hopefully the next time I post, I'll bore you senseless with talks of my new kitchen, etc. And hopefully I won't be cranky and snarky. Till then... C-ya!

Eek!

So Hubby and I are supposed to be closing on the new house a week from tomorrow.

All I can currently think of is how many ceiling fans needs to be purchased, how many window treatments need to be ordered and whether or not we can move the house, garage, attic and storage unit all in one day (I'm betting no). I'm trying to get excited about the whole venture by thinking of all the space we're going to have. The kitchen island will be a godsend. Having the utility room in the house will be amazing. I'm not too keen on the see through glass shower door (I am just a private person - bite me!), but I think I can talk Hubby into putting up some frosting or something on it. Otherwise, I'll be showering upstairs. Some silly things are exciting me. I get to get a new toaster. :-) I've had the same toaster since I moved out on my own 14 years ago. I want a new one! Hubby is also talking about updating our washer and dryer with front loaders. I bought our current washer and dryer used in 1998 and to tell the truth, I'm amazed they still work. I have no idea how old they actually are. The prospect of cooking on a gas stove has me thrilled beyond belief. But for a person that hates to vacuum, 3500 square feet of mostly carpet seems daunting. And being that private person, not having window treatments on the street facing windows the day we move in will drive me nuts. I'll be walking around in the dark so no one can see in the house. :-)

It will all work out. I just need to breath and try to be optimistic.

Hey there!

Yes, Hubby and I made it back from our wonderful trip! The vacation was everything that we hoped for and even a little more. Things have been a little crazy since we got back and to be honest, I've been in a bit of a post-vacation funk. I apologize for not updating.

I can't even begin to tell you how much I loved Europe. It appealed to me on every level, far exceeding all my expectations. Five months later, the reality of life is still depressing after the wonder of such a trip. But - life has a way of chugging on anyway.

Because it was soooo long ago, I won't even bother with telling you about Germany or the wonderful people we met there. :-) Just know that I loved every experience, every view, bite and drink.

I will tell you that the new house is ready for move in and the target closing is April 1 (I know - a colosal joke in the waiting). I'm of two minds about the new house at this point. The POTUS released a budget proposal 2/1/10 that seriously cripples the United States manned space flight program. Jobs within the NASA community are not guaranteed at all. Hubby maintains his usual aplomb, but I am nervous. The idea of taking on such a large mortgage (compared to what we currently have) is daunting. Also at issue is the fact that on our very first date, Hubby and I talked about how we both wanted to move out of Houston. Part of me wanders if this earth-shattering development in the space program is the catalyst that we've been waiting for. If we let it slip by, when will we have such an excuse again? On the other hand, I'm really looking forward to having the bigger house. I can't wait to have Hubby in his TV room upstairs and silence prevailing the downstairs. I want to cook in my new kitchen and bore you poor people with pics of homemade bread and pizzas.

I will also tell you that I just spent a wonderful week in Napa with several of my girlfriends. Several things about Napa reminded me of Germany, which reminded me of this long-neglected blog, which is the only reason you're getting an update. ;-)

I loved the Napa valley. I spent an entire day driving through small towns with my iPod blaring through the rental cars' speakers, sipping coffee and wearing a shit-eating grin on my face. I did not, however, smoke - so kudos to me! Much wine was tasted, much history absorbed and one very important lesson learned - I'm a beer girl. :-D Loved spending time with my girls. Loved, loved, loved the scenary and the Napa experience. But give me a nice draft beer over a bottle of wine any day. Not to say that I wouldn't do it again, because I totally would. I'd go back to Napa in a heartbeat just to eat at Taylor's Refresher or to grab a Tail-Wagging Ale at Downtown Joe's. I bought 4 bottles of wine and 10 (20oz) bottles of beer. :-)

So anywho - I am alive. I apologize for neglecting the blog. I make no promises, but I'll try to do better.

Before I run out the door...

Hubby and I are leaving Monday for the trip of a lifetime. We're going on a brewery/pub tour of Germany and the Czech Republic. All told, we will be gone 13 days and visit Frankfurt, Bamberg, Berchestgaden and Munich (for Oktoberfest) in Germany and Pilsn, Prague and Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic. Our tour caters to those who appreciate good beer. Hubby is beside himself with joy. I am excited beyond belief to be going on my first trip to Europe. I make no promises, but MAYBE I'll post some pics to the blog while we're there. :-)

In the meantime, Hubby and I received a call from the builder for our new house last week. Someone had canceled their house and the builder was offering us their slot. That means instead of being ready in March or April, our new house will be ready in January or February! :-) Hubby and I ran over to the design center last Saturday to chose the brick we wanted so that it can be ordered. While we were there, we also picked our kitchen cabinets, countertops and flooring. :-) We've narrowed the carpet down for the rest of the house. :-)

Trip to Europe. New house. :-) Feeling pretty blessed right now.

A Heartbreaking Reality

Not sure if you guys have heard about this one - children grow up.

I do not have children. Hubby and I decided years ago that the world would be no worse in the absence of human Butler Brats, but could possibly be worse with the addition thereof. So I don't know first hand the excitement and heartbreak of raising a child.

I do, however, know how heartbreaking it is to watch a child you love grow up. My sister has two beautiful daughters. I am their only aunt - for the most part their only extended family period. I consider being an aunt to be one of the greatest things that's ever happened to me. Being a part of Mirney and Carebear's lives is a wonderful privilege. I watched them play t-ball as little bitty girls; watched them perform in the city's dramatic society. I've gone to band and orchestra concerts, Girl Scout dance recitals, helped to sell cookies and raffle tickets. I've taken them shopping, taken them to get their hair done or to get a makeover. I've taken them to see sandcastles on the beach. They made beautiful additions to my bridal party. I have not been in their lives every day, but I like to think that I have at least been a fixture in their lives.

I was a junior in high school when my oldest niece, Mirney, was born and was pretty much still a child myself. She was a wee tiny little thing at 21 inches yet less than 6 pounds. When Mirney was about 13 months old, my sister brought her family back to Houston and moved in "down the road a piece" from my mother and myself. Carebear was born just nine months later. We were constant babysitters. :-) I have tons of fond memories of throwing them in the air as children, taking them to parks and playing silly games on the living room floor.

How is any of that heartbreaking? Last Sunday, Mirney turned sixteen. She's still a funny and silly girl (which I TOTALLY love and hope she never outgrows), but she isn't so much into sitting on the floor playing silly games anymore. She doesn't believe the crazy, whacked-out stories I make up anymore. In just a few short years, she will be old enough to vote and will be going off to college and to start her own life. Her baby sister will be just 22 short months behind her. They've gone from being kids I carried on my hip to kids that are taller than I am. From having sweet little rolls of baby fat, to being elegantly thin and statuesque young women. Where'd the time go?

Mirney was a such a TINY baby!

Carebear, known in my family as the mini version of me. :-)

The two most beautiful kids in the world! (I am NOT biased!!)

Mirney on the left, Carebear on the right.

Now two of the most gorgeous and sweet young ladies ever...

One with their very, very short aunt...

And last, but not least, one that makes my heart warm and fuzzy...

TREEHUGGERS!!!!!! YES!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm Ba-ack!

I have no excuses. I am merely a slacker. I have been putting off updating the blog simply because I didn’t want to try to remember what all we’ve been up to. So! I’ve decided not to give you a blow by blow of the last month and a half and to merely pick up as if my last entry was made yesterday. I swear that I WILL post the Heartattack On A Plate recipe (with pictures), but it’s not going to be today. :-)
The garden is for the most part in shambles right now. We’re in a bit of a drought down here in the Houston area and watering the whole garden daily is just not plausible. The jalapenos are still growing like gangbusters as are the bell peppers and the new set of corn. Everything else is screaming in agony and praying for rain. I can’t tell you how disappointing that is, because before the onset of the ridiculous heat and lack of water, the garden was doing SO WELL!! I miss my little backyard oasis. :-( Hopefully the heat will slack off soon and I can start planning a fall garden.
You may or may not remember that our house was damaged during last year’s hurricane Ike. Our roof FINALLY got replaced this past weekend – just eleven short months after Ike blew through. Since Hubby and I are planning to move to the “the big house” next spring, we are currently working on a long list of fixes for the current house. Right now we are painting the exterior of the house. I was amazed at how exhausting that is. Of course, I’m sure that is directly related to the aforementioned scalding heat.
So, the next few weeks will be busy weeks with most of our weekend time devoted to house projects. Hubby and I will then be going to Germany for a few weeks! The last three or four years, we have dreamed of a trip to Germany (me because I’ve never been to Europe, Hubby because he wants to go to Munich’s Oktoberfest). After watching the rate for the tour we wanted to take go up steadily over the years, this year we decided to just bite the bullet. :-) It might not be the smartest way to spend that much money right now, but it’s a sacrifice we’re willing to make.
So that’s where we’re at right now. Hopefully over the next couple days/weeks, I can post more about the fun stuff we’ve been up to (brewery events, Broadway shows, baseball games, etc). I seriously hope the slackerism is behind me now. :-) Sorry I let you down!

Abbey's Hundred Dollar Flatus

I think I've mentioned before that Abbey is our vet-lover. Well, she got us again today.
Golden Retrievers are very prone to a nasty condition called "bloat." If you've ever read "Marley and Me," you know that labs are also prone to bloat and that Marley was a bloat statistic. With bloat, a dog's stomach essentially turns itself in a knot and they swell up and their stomach is hard as a rock. They can die within hours. So that's a primer on bloat...
Last night, Hubby and I had some friends over for a little party. Hubby has a very nice smoker in the backyard and decided to make a brisket and a beer butt chicken. I contributed a heart-attack inducing "Bacon Explosion" log that I'll blog about tomorrow. Like most grills, the smoker has a drip can at the bottom to catch all the bits of grease that are released during cooking. Last night, we caught Abbey snout deep in that can. We knew she'd have an upset tummy today and we weren't surprised by some vomiting and loose stool. I was a little surprised to find the stupid animal snout deep in the grease again this morning though. After a severe scolding, I didn't let her out without supervision the rest of the day. Hubby and I were not at all surprised that she kept drinking a lot of water. Abbey is part camel anyway, and after eating all that grease, we couldn't blame her for trying to wash it down.
Then about 3, Hubby mentioned that she looked bloated to him. I went into the hall where she was laying and agreed 100%. She looked like she'd gained 20 pounds in just a few hours. I went over and started feeling her belly to discover that it was hard as a rock. Hubby and I debated for about 3 minutes what to do and then loaded her up for a trip to the emergency vet; we just could not risk it being bloat.
Animal emergency rooms are a lot like human emergency rooms. You spend a lot of time sitting around being ignored and they charge a lot of money. Two and a half hours later,while being totally ignored in an exam room, Abbey let off a few flatus that had us opening the door so we could breath. Then she stood up and we noticed that the floor under her tail was wet (not brown or gross looking, just wet). We figured we'd been there a while and she might need to pee, so we took her outside where she proceeded to pee twice and at considerable length. She also seemed to lose 10 pounds before our very eyes. Whilst we were outside, a vet tech told us the vet was NOW ready to see us. We told him about the grease and the water and that she'd just gone to the bathroom like a racehorse and that she looked and acted much happier now, thank-you-very-much. He said that she most likely drank too much water after her grease snack and the combination of the gas from the grease and the overindulgence of water had made her bloat up like a water buffalo. Hubby and I were like "Ya think???" The vet told us to bring her home and monitor her food and water intake tonight and tomorrow. He then proceeded to give us a bill for $103. Yes, that's right. We paid $100 for our dog to take 3 hours to fart at the emergency vet. :-) Happy Fourth of July!